Matthew Marcus Sets Record with Fastest Ever Win in Indian Crossword League Round 5

Matthew Marcus from Portland, USA, has won the 5th Round of the 13th edition of the Indian Crossword League (IXL) in style, submitting a flawlessly solved grid in the fastest-ever timing in the history of the contest. Breathing down his neck was compatriot Erik Agard from Kansas City at No. 2. While Matthew clocked 6 minutes 35 seconds to score a perfect 100, Erik made it in 6 minutes 39 seconds, scoring 99. Marks are allotted for both accuracy and speed.

Ramki Krishnan, a former champion from Chennai, grabbed 3rd position on the leaderboard, his timing way behind the top two at 14 minutes 19 seconds.

Except for the breakneck speed with which the top two ran ahead, the halfway mark of the global competitive platform, where crème de la crème lock horns to test their puzzle-solving mettle, threw few surprises as the field remains wide open.In the cumulative rankings, Erik, Matthew and Ramki retain top three positions in that order. With Sowmya Ramkumar from Manama at No. 7, it makes three overseas players in the top 10.

The sixth of the 10 rounds of the Preliminary Stage will start Sunday.

IXL has an online-offline format comprising 10 online rounds and an offline Grand Finale. A fresh grid of clues is uploaded on the website www.crypticsingh.com every Sunday at 11 am (India time) and the time for submission of solutions closes at 11.59 pm (India time) every Wednesday. Contestants are assigned marks both for correctness and speed. After 10 online rounds, the top 30 on the basis of their cumulative scores are invited to Bengaluru for the Grand Finale. The winner takes home the National Crossword Champion trophy.

Contestants can register on the website at any stage during the contest’s run. A round topper, irrespective of the final ranking, gets an automatic entry to vie for the trophy.